Recently adopted a 5 month old dachshund from the humane society. We are trying to train her to go outside but it does not seem she has ever gone outdoors before. So we got her puppy pads and a spray to put on them to stimulate her to go in the designated area. She does go on them...somewhat..but only when she is confined to the space they are in. She has no interest in the spray that is suppose to help her know where to go. And no interest in going potty outside or when we are there watching. i sat with her yesterday near the pad for an hour and achieved nothing. i left for two minutes and she went everywhere. So any tips for a puppy who isn't interested in sniffing out a spot to go potty, or other methods to encourage her to go on the pads or outside. i know this process takes patience which i have, but i just want to know we are at least moving in the right direction 

My dog trained right away when potty training her so I never had to do the pads so I don't have any tips on those. Have you tried giving her treats when she potties outside? Every time she goes outside you give her a special treat and if she goes potty inside you scold her and you take her outside right away to enforce that pottying isn't for indoors, it's for outdoors. 

I haven't tried treats, but she hasn't gone bathroom outside once either. I've taken her at the same time i take our other dog so maybe she'll try and mimic him but she doesn't understand. And i haven't taken her outside very much or for very long because the vet said it seems she may have gotten a bit of a cold or kennel cough when at the humane society. 

they sell cloth dog diapers at the pet store. i would also suggest a nice warm coat.

if she got kennel cough at the humane society they should pay for it to be treated. i didnt know they could adopt out sick dogs! 

We have an almost 3 month old that we got when he was 7 weeks and let me tell you it's a lot of work. We started out taking him in the front yard and we just took him out literally every 30 to 45 minutes. As soon as he stood up, the first thing we did was take him out, rain or shine or freezing weather. Even at night we had him sleep with us in the bed and as soon as he woke up we took him outside(he sleeps through the night now!). Just like a baby every few hours we were outside! We don't come in till he pees. And sometimes we had to stay out there long so we have rain boots and a jacket hanging by the front door for whoever takes him. We are CONSTANTLY watching him, like a baby he is always in someone's care. Unless we go out, he is kenneled. He is 95% housebroken now and because he is 27 lbs, he now goes out potty in the back yard. I would not recommend you encouraging her to use the wee wee pads because she will get used to going in the house. From the beginning the goal should be for potty to happen outside. Good luck, but it's a tough tough job to housebreak a puppy. Oh, and sorry to all animal lovers, but when the puppy went in the house we rubbed his nose and swat the booty and firmly say no over and over so now he knows. It's only temporary. Just be patient! 

Also, invest in a good shampooer =/ 

Take a second to read on these breeds of dogs they are very hard to "potty train "
Sandra's advice was the best ever. It will take work but it is very doable. 

Very true, my friend is a dog person and after a year was unable to train her dachsund and sent her back to her parents where the weather was mild and she was able to be an oudoor dog. She would get excited and just squirt everywhere! And i have heard several other similar stories, but its not impossible just be patient 

Training a puppy is like training a toddler, but harder. I'd take the toddler any day! It took our dog forever to learn to go outside. When she was a puppy she hated the weather here. One drop of rain on her back and she'd run to go back in the house. We had to buy her a coat and follow her around outside with an umbrella. We basically did what Sandra did...we would take her outside often and just stay outside with her until she went. Sometimes (most of the time) it took forever. We would also give her treats right after she went, while she was still outside. The vet told us about that. She said if you reward them with treats once you're back inside they don't get that they're being rewarded for what they did outside. It really just takes time and patience. 

I use to rescue dogs. IMO, smaller dogs are much harder at times to house train. I found the best way for myself to do that, was to crate train first. I put them in the crates at night only for 2 weeks,this was to get them on a potty schedule, or if we had to leave. I also picked the dog up to carry it outside each time. (otherwise it was like they would piss a lake on my floor!)Once they know where to go, they will. In my own personal opinion puppy pads are very confusing to a dog. If you do not want them to pee or poo in the house, I would not recommend using them. It takes patience. I remember standing outside in the freezing rain for almost an hour and a half with my Lhasa Apso foster until he finally went! Once he realized he better suck it up or have to be out there even longer, he got the picture! Some big dogs can be a task for potty training as well. I would definitely invest in a great shampooer, as well as great stain removal products! Resolve pet stain remover worked wonders for us, as well as Febreeze with Oxy Clean Carpet and Upholstery cleaner. I have two pure bred German Shepherd and I swear they were amazing at potty training. I want to say it was week two there were no more accidents! I was completely amazed by them. We got both of them at 8 wks old. 

I also forgot to mention, I took all of our potty trainers outside every two hours on the dot! Frequent potty trips help make it respective for them and being consistent is the key. Never scorn them if they do have an accident though, it only makes them nervous! 

A friend of mine taught me how to bell train our dog Zoe... she is a small breed also. For a good 4-6 months she was only out of her puppy play yard (set up in the house) when we were able to keep an eye on her like you would a baby.. we took her out every hour or so... there is some rule about their age or weight and now long they can hold their bladders and we always took her out after eating and drinking....we hung a bell from a string on the door that we would take her out to and at first we would ring the bell give her a treat then take her out.. even if she didn't go we would come back in ring the bell and give her another treat. After about a week or so we started helping her to ring the bell.. she had stopped having accidents on the carpet at this point and would only have them in front of the door on the hard wood... it only took her about 3 weeks to get the hang of it but she started ringing the bell on her own and we eventually were able to ween it down so that she only got a treat if she rang the bell for the right purpose which was to go outside and go potty.. we also set up a small gated play yard outside that was her designated "potty spot"... she refused to go while on a leash and we didn't have a yard at that point and couldn't let her roam free so that worked out great. Now that we have a fenced back yard she still confines her pottying to the play yard area.. we don't even have to shut her in there she goes on her own.... Good luck! 

if she got kennel cough at the humane society they should pay for it to be treated. i didnt know they could adopt out sick dogs!

Our little guy had kennel cough when we got him from the humane society here in Oklahoma. We took him to the vet for shots and they put him on medication for the cough. 

I'm a dog trainer if you need some help!
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